Stories from Monday, August 26, 2002

Feds' dated literacy study cause for IC ESL cutback(08/26/02)There is little hope for reversing the funding cuts that have forced Iowa Central Community College in Storm Lake to cut back on the hours for English as a Second Language classes, although the formula responsible for the cuts may be flawed. The ESL classes for adults seeking to learn functional English, most of the Latinos, have been cut down from 25 hours a week to 18. GED classes, which help adults go back and earn a high school level diploma, shrink from 22 hours down to 18...

Noble Eagles(08/26/02)The Storm Lake National Guard Artillery Battalion was ordered to active duty this week. It affects local members of the Iowa National Guard's 1st Battalion, 194th Field Artillery, which has a unit in Storm Lake. "They will deploy to locations within the United States for homeland security missions as part of Operation Noble Eagle II," said Col. Robert King, public affairs officer...

'Expressions' pound backbeat for Balloon Days(08/26/02)In many neighborhoods in many cities across the country, "garage bands" are busting out tunes. Not many, however, have been doing it for a combined 123 years. In Lakeside, four men known as The Expressions have attracted attention at home and around the area for both their talent and longevity...

ICCC sees SL growth(08/26/02)The nursing program at Iowa Central Community College in Storm Lake continues to thrive in a time where the national norm is a growing shortage of trained nursing professionals. "With the nursing shortage around us, we think this is a very good thing, and we have added a section of anatomy and physiology to help students in our pre-nursing program to get a good foundation," campus director Dan Anderson said...

Ladybug Liftoff(08/26/02)The 70-foot high balloon weighs 225 pounds and has eight-foot long antennae perched on the top of the balloon. The diameter of the head is 15 feet, while the nine spots dotting the object are each 12 feet in length. Created in 1997, the Carbondale, Ill., balloon has appeared in numerous flying events across the continent in her five years, including the International Balloon Festival in Albuquerque, N.M., the National Balloon Classic in Indianola, Iowa, the Hall of Fame Balloon Classic in Canton, Ohio, and air time over Canadian and Mexican skies.. ...

Researchers study effect of soy protein(08/26/02)The conference brought together retailers, manufacturers, growers, dietitians, university researchers and reporters who write about food to discuss soybean breeding and processing, new product development and marketing trends. Several speakers talked about ongoing research that indicates eating soy products can have a positive effect on human health. ...

SL thin on returning experience(08/26/02)For the first time in 12 years, Storm Lake will begin its football season with a new head coach. Bill McCabe, who coached at LM-ACT for the past 20 years, takes over the program after the resignation of Craig Lyon last year. As expected, McCabe is using the preseason practices to familiarize himself with the personnel on this year's team...

Shirley Currie(08/26/02)The funeral services were held on Friday at the Presbyterian Church in Schaller with the Reverend Ken Fells officiating. Burial was in the Eureka Township Cemetery at Schaller. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home of Schaller was in charge of the arrangements...

Letter from the Editor(08/26/02)It generally isn't a great idea to pay too much attention to other people's garbage. There's some things you just don't really want to know about your neighbors. But when your neighbor is a university, it can be interesting. Buena Vista U's open-sided trash dumpster isn't much of a scenic attraction, but it is smack in the middle of my lunchtime walking route...

Guest Editorial(08/26/02)For pure symbolic value, the arrests of Adelphia founder John Rigas and his two sons were priceless. The feds led the three men away in handcuffs, charging them with nine counts of conspiracy to commit securities, bank and wire fraud and accusing them of using Adelphia, a publicly held company, as their own "personal piggy bank."...

Letter to the Pilot(08/26/02)TO THE EDITOR: Since Governor Vilsack and I started the "More Medicare for Iowa" petition drive on July 16, we have been traveling the state encouraging Iowans to join us in calling on our leaders in Washington to deliver a fair share of Medicare for Iowa...